Randy Gregory - Pro Football Rumors

Randy Gregory To Apply For Reinstatement

May 16th, 2018 at 12:18pm CST by Zachary Links

Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory will formally apply for reinstatement on Thursday, sources tell NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Reinstatement rulings are typically delivered within a 60-day window, so Gregory could be cleared in time for training camp.

Gregory recently spent more than six weeks in intensive rehab for drug and alcohol use and has also received counseling to combat his issues. Teammate Tyrone Crawford has told the league that it would be best for Gregory’s recovery if he is allowed back in football and Gregory’s camp is likely to make a similar argument.

The Cowboys are hopeful that Gregory will be allowed to play in 2018, but they are not banking on his return either.

“I am not confident [in Gregory being reinstated], but I do see where his heart is,” owner Jerry Jones said recently. “He is one the smartest people to have played this game. This is a tremendous step. He has had that same IQ since he has had these issues. That’s an issue. This is definitely a medical issue. There is no doubt in my mind about the medical. That is another campaign. It’s a pretty circuitous route. It has a lot of discretionary things to determine. There is a lot of subjectiveness. But he is doing very well. He’s got a lot to play for. He has a new baby. He has a lot going for him. He is very astute about knowing that. He has to do what a lot of us have had to do and that is to do better at 24 and 25 than when you were 20.”

Some felt that Gregory had top 10 talent heading into the 2015 draft, but he slid to the Cowboys in the second round following a positive test for marijuana at the combine. So far, the Nebraska product has notched just 15 career tackles. He has one sack to his credit, which came in Dallas’ 2016 season finale. He has not taken the field since.

Cowboys Rumors: Gregory, Witten, Crawford

May 9th, 2018 at 2:46pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest out of Dallas:

Cowboys defensive end Tyrone Crawford has spoken to the league the last couple of weeks to argue for the reinstatement of suspended defensive lineman Randy Gregory, Clarence Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram tweets. Crawford’s believe is that it is best for Gregory to be around the team as he looks to get his personal life and football career back on track. The Cowboys are hopeful that Gregory will be allowed to play in 2018, but they are not banking on him playing.
The Cowboys not interested in adding a veteran tight end to make up for Jason Witten retiring, Jon Machota of the Dallas News tweets. Instead, as exec Stephen Jones has said in the past, the team wants to give the opportunity to the tight ends already on the roster. Not counting UDFA’s, the Cowboys’ TE depth chart is comprised of Geoff Swaim, Blake Jarwin, fourth-round pick Dalton Schultz, and Rico Gathers.
Kansas head coach David Beaty believes defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. fell to the Cowboys in the fourth round because of his weight and lack of quickness at the combine and pro day (link via Jori Epstein of the Dallas News). Assuming Armstrong gets his conditioning in order, Beaty believes the Cowboys have a tremendous steal on their hands. In 2016, Armstrong had a breakout year with ten sacks for the Jayhawks.

Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones On Randy Gregory

March 29th, 2018 at 4:14pm CST by Zachary Links

Randy Gregory is laying the groundwork for his return to football, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is not getting his hopes up. While Jones credited the defensive end for his work to get his life back on track, he says that he is not banking on the commissioner to let him back in for 2018.

“I am not confident [in Gregory being reinstated], but I do see where his heart is,” Jones said (via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). “He is one the smartest people to have played this game. This is a tremendous step. He has had that same IQ since he has had these issues. That’s an issue. This is definitely a medical issue. There is no doubt in my mind about the medical. That is another campaign. It’s a pretty circuitous route. It has a lot of discretionary things to determine. There is a lot of subjectiveness. But he is doing very well. He’s got a lot to play for. He has a new baby. He has a lot going for him. He is very astute about knowing that. He has to do what a lot of us have had to do and that is to do better at 24 and 25 than when you were 20.”

Jones offered support for Gregory on a personal and professional level noting that he is “really a good person,” and “one helluva football player.” Still, Jones knows that the reinstatement process is somewhat subjective. His own personal relationship with Roger Goodell might not help matters either.

The Cowboys will start Demarcus Lawrence and Tyrone Crawford at the bookends with Taco Charlton, Charles Tapper, and Datone Jones offering support from the bench. The Cowboys have said all along that they are hoping to get Gregory back in the fold, but they are also planning for life without him in 2018. That could mean some edge rushing reinforcements next month through the draft.

Latest On Cowboys’ Randy Gregory

March 28th, 2018 at 4:37pm CST by Zachary Links

Randy Gregory has been laying the groundwork for his return to football, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News writes. Representatives of the defensive end are “in the process of doing the work necessary to apply for reinstatement,” Moore adds.

Gregory has not seen the field since the 2016 season due to multiple violations of the league’s substance abuse policy. However, the latest word on him is positive and he passed drug tests in the fall. Once the right paperwork is in place, it is expected that Gregory will meet with commissioner Roger Goodell. Based on Goodell’s previous handling of players in similar situations, it seems as though Gregory could be allowed back on the field if he can demonstrate that he is drug free.

The former second-round pick out of Nebraska has notched just 15 career tackles. He has one sack to his credit, which came in Dallas’ 2016 season finale.

Cowboys Rumors: Irving, Gregory, Jones

February 27th, 2018 at 12:47pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest out of Dallas:

Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones confirmed that the Cowboys will tender restricted free agent defensive lineman David Irving (Twitter link via Clarence Hill of the Star Telegram). However, Jones says the team has not decided if it will be first or second round tender. Extending an RFA tender to Irving is a no-brainer, but the call on whether to make it a first- or second-round tender is a tougher decision. This year, the second-round tender will likely be in the $2.85MM-$2.95MM range. Meanwhile, the first round tender will probably be upwards of $4.1MM. The second-round tender should be enough to ward off interested teams, but the Cowboys could play it safe by assigning the first-round tender to Irving.
Jones said the team is taking a “worst case scenario” approach to the potential reinstatement of defensive end Randy Gregory (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Todd Archer). The former second-round pick has missed all but two games over the last two seasons because of a suspension, so the Cowboys aren’t expecting to have him back, nor do they know what he can offer them at this point. On a positive note, Gregory passed drug tests in the fall.
On Tuesday, Jones indicated that the Cowboys will be moving on from cornerback Orlando Scandrick.

Randy Gregory Reinstatement Unlikely Until 2018

October 24th, 2017 at 9:53pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory is unlikely to seek reinstatement from his one-year substance abuse suspension until 2018, sources tell Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. Earlier today, Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports reported the NFL wasn’t expected to reinstate Gregory in November, which is when he’d first be eligible to apply for reinstatement.

Gregory could theoretically apply for re-entry to the NFL 60 days before his ban ends on January 6, but the former second-round pick is still working through personal issues, per Robinson. While at least one report indicated Gregory had failed a drug test in April, he attended a rehab facility over the summer and passed substance tests as late as September of this year. The Cowboys and their security team have been keeping an eye on Gregory, who’s been working out in the Dallas area, according to Robinson.

Given the NFL’s apparent disinterest in clearing Gregory in November, the Cowboys edge defender could take further action in order to convince the league he’s ready to play again. Waiting until 2018 to seek reinstatement could be one such step, while Gregory has also considered undergoing more counseling or serving another stay at rehab, per Robinson.

Gregory, 24, exhibited a variety of off-field question marks heading into the 2015 draft, but the Cowboys selected him in the second round anyway. It’s clear why Dallas overlooked Gregory’s issues, as the Nebraska product managed 16.5 sacks over two collegiate seasons and ranked as a top-10 athlete among edge rushing prospects. But he’s appeared in just 14 games in the NFL (zero starts), and has posted only one professional sack.

Randy Gregory Fails Another Drug Test?

April 29th, 2017 at 1:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

Randy Gregory is believed to have failed yet another drug test, with TMZ reporting the Cowboys defensive end tested positive for marijuana for the seventh time since entering the league. He’s already surpassed the one-year suspension stage of the NFL’s drug program and now runs the risk of an indefinite suspension.

Some close Gregory associates spoke with TMZ and said they are worried about his well-being. TMZ reports the 24-year-old defender tested positive on Feb. 21 and was notified of such a result on March 2.

The website also reports Gregory’s listed agent, Deryk Gilmore, no longer represents him. More people close to Gregory told TMZ his career could well be over. Gregory also reportedly brushed off league officials who tried to discuss his situation with him.

The Cowboys drafted Taco Charlton in the first round to help a thin edge-rushing contingent, one Gregory was slated to be part of when the team selected him in the second round in 2015. He’s notched just 15 career tackles and one sack, which came in Dallas’ Week 17 game last season.

Randy Gregory Gets One-Year Suspension

January 5th, 2017 at 4:01pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The two games Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory played this season will be his last for a while. The NFL has officially suspended Gregory for one year without pay for violating its substance abuse policy.

The threat of a one-year ban had been hanging over Gregory’s head since he failed a drug test in November. Gregory elected to appeal that failed test, enabling him to take the field during the process, but his hearing with the league this past Tuesday didn’t yield the results he or the Cowboys wanted.

Gregory will now miss the Cowboys’ playoff run, however long it lasts, and all of next season. He’ll have to apply to commissioner Roger Goodell for reinstatement when the suspension expires. The earliest he’ll be able to do that is Nov. 6, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill, who adds that Gregory won’t have access to the Cowboys’ facilities during his suspension (Twitter links).

This is now the third ban in Gregory’s two-year pro career. Each suspension has come from a substance abuse violation, and the first two forced him to sit out the opening 14 games of the Cowboys’ season in 2016. Cognizant of his issues, Gregory checked into a treatment facility last July, but he still hasn’t been able to overcome his problems. The former Nebraska standout entered the league with drug-related concerns, including a failed test at the 2015 scouting combine, which caused his draft stock to plummet. Gregory had first-round talent, but he fell to Round 2, where the Cowboys nabbed him with the 60th overall pick.

Injuries and suspensions have combined to keep Gregory off the field for 18 of 32 regular-season games since his entrance into the pros. While the 24-year-old hasn’t made a significant impact when he actually has played, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has decided to this point that Gregory’s potential outweighs his baggage.

Gregory amassed his first career sack in a Week 17 loss to the Eagles, but that will be his last notable contribution for the foreseeable future.

NFL To Decide Randy Gregory’s Fate Soon

January 4th, 2017 at 7:29pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The NFL will make a decision on whether to suspend Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory within the next seven to 10 days, reports Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. That means Dallas, the NFC’s top seed, will know Gregory’s fate before its Jan. 15 divisional round matchup.

Gregory had a Tuesday appeal hearing with the league stemming from a November failed drug test that could trigger a one-year ban. If it does, it would be the third suspension in Gregory’s two-year career. The 2015 second-round pick from Nebraska missed 14 games this season because of his first two suspensions, and it appeared he wouldn’t play at all after his latest failed test. Gregory elected to challenge the ruling, though, which allowed him to return to the field in Week 16. In the only two games he played during the regular season, Gregory racked up nine tackles and his first career sack.

If the league does bar Gregory from participating for the next year, it seems unlikely to affect his status with the Cowboys. Owner Jerry Jones hasn’t shown any willingness to give up on Gregory, whose substance abuse issues date back to his time as a college star. Those problems led Gregory to fall to the draft’s 60th pick, where the Cowboys took a gamble on his upside. Gregory’s on-field impact has been minimal thus far, however, and the Cowboys managed a 13-3 record in 2016 without any significant contributions from the 24-year-old.

Latest On Cowboys’ Randy Gregory

January 3rd, 2017 at 11:42am CST by Zachary Links

Randy Gregory is changing agents, a family member tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter), and that process could help him stay on the field for the postseason. Gregory was scheduled for an appeal hearing today (Tuesday), but his lack of representation could result in a postponement. If the hearing is delayed, that could drag out the process and leave us even further from a resolution to his case. And, if he continues to stay in limbo, that could mean that he is free to suit up in the playoffs.

The agent dropped Gregory and not the other way around, a source tells Clarence Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram (on Twitter). However, it went down, the net effect is likely the same: Gregory has a right to a representative in an appeal hearing and it sounds like he can effectively stall until a new rep is in place.

The Cowboys, of course, have a first-round bye. Gregory hopes to be in uniform for Dallas when the divisional round gets underway.